Dutch Double Bill 1: The Opposite Of Silence Is Golden

I suppose the dutch quality has always been there but for me it's a bit like buses. I spend days trying to get hold of copies of my next 2 reviews & 2they both come along at once. Well travelled but Amsterdam based, Giovanca Ostiana steps out from the shadows with a thoughtful, mature debut. A lot of todays supposed RnB is either too bass driven for the clubs or too sappy for it's own good. One of the great things about this release is the way that the melody does most of the work on alot of the songs. The 1st three tracks are sublime examples. On My Way's Uptempo, almost Nu-Funk vibe is carried by a piano & snare with the kick almost non-existant. From here the bassy but simple smoothness of Joyride is accentuated by the changing licks of a bass guitar. Then comes one the foot stomps, hand claps, tablas & a sporadic piano that allow Giovanca to do her thing., only for a bass guitat & slightly heavier drum to be added to create an almost carnival vibe on Hypnotize You. On my fav track on the album, Melancholic You, You'd be forgiven for thinking that the drums are only there to keep time for the lovely strings, guitar & horns of the song. I could go on about all 12 of the songs on here as each one deserves a mention (You Can Do It, Free, Stay Together, the beautiful You Again, etc) as well as all of the original production & live instrumentation. Gio's voice suits every track & oozes a Jazzy smoothness that conventional RnB songstresses just don't have. I hope that this quality over quantity vibe is now the way of the walk. It seems that the last few albums i have covered are almost entirely ereft of any filler. This is one such album & long may it continue.

p e a c e


Giovance - Subway Silence selection

Giovanca's Site